Comedy hopes to 'channel' success at Broward Center

The type is familiar: the muscle-bound, maddeningly handsome dude sporting a devil-may-care attitude, punching out baddies with a dashing grin.

In reality, Elan Wolf Farbiarz felt the opposite: a hangdog cubicle drone eking out an existence in Liverpool, England, drawing small enjoyment from characters he idolizes on Netflix DVDs.

In reality, he felt like a tame Kevin Spacey character - not a daring Al Pacino brimming with confidence. So when writer/director/producer Farbiarz crafted the meek character Charlie in his play "Channeling Kevin Spacey," pulling inspiration was simple.

"I also felt like I was just existing, living a dull life. Pacino was just this Mafioso tough guy that people who watched him felt invigorated by," said Farbiarz, of Fort Lauderdale. "I think people are always typecast in life, and we fit this mold that people perceive because we don't really change our routines."

"Channeling Kevin Spacey," a tight-scripted dark comedy that Farbiarz and co-writer Cory Terry penned as a result, served as both wish-fulfillment and an ode to great cinema. The duo's play, which first rounded the Canadian Fringe theatre circuit in 2008, netted Farbiarz and Terry "Best of Fringe" awards in cities like Edmonton and Toronto before heading stateside.

The 80-minute, one-act play is debuting - after much re-casting, retooling and rewriting - at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Friday.

Farbiarz's new play follows Charlie Rotliewitz (Scott Douglas Wilson), a corporate sap who's henpecked by his philandering girlfriend (Monica Mercedes Garcia) at home. While catching a Kevin Spacey movie marathon, Charlie - like Elan - has his Netflix-induced epiphany: his life, career and personality mirror all the milquetoast roles that brought the actor celebrity.

In short, he's Lester Burnham from "American Beauty," Verbal Kint from "The Usual Suspects" (before revealing he's Keyser Soze, of course) and John Williamson from "Glengarry Glen Ross," all balled into one whipping boy mired in a loveless relationship.

So Charlie changes the casting, shedding the Kevin Spacey supporting role and swapping it with the persona he admires: Al Pacino. Faster than he can shout "Woo-haaa!," Charlie's impersonating Scarface himself, confronting his boss instead of crumbling like a patsy.

"It's funny, edgy stuff, and we wanted to put it on the big stage instead of going to quirky off-Broadway theaters," Farbiarz said. "It's going to be fantastic. We wanted to get some young actors involved and use a lot of multimedia."

Before the jump to the United States, Farbiarz and Terry gleefully gutted the script, adding new scenes and throwing in a movie projector screen prop. They also cast South Florida actors Wilson and Garcia and added a third: Arick Fudali, who portrays Charlie's overbearing boss, a sleazy friend and 10 other peripheral characters. The Canadian version, Terry said, had actually featured two male actors playing male and female roles.

"With a fringe festival audience, you can say whatever you want. I don't think our show was ever really that racy," said Terry, a South Florida transplant now living in Washington, D.C. "We acknowledge it's a different audience now. But nothing was really sacrificed in terms of the show. Censoring was not the way to go."

The biggest overhaul was the title: "Channeling" originally started off as "Killing Kevin Spacey" until Spacey's camp understandably pushed the name change, said Terry.

"Every time you see the production in rehearsals, it's always an awesome thing. It's definitely not the same as before. It's a lot better," Terry said. "We're going to be a bundle of nerves on opening night."